APIS Volume 10, Number 3, March 1992
In this issue:
- Reflections on Egyptian Beekeeping
ASSIGNMENT EGYPT
Perhaps the first thing one reads when studying the history of apiculture is that a very early seat of beekeeping was ancient Egypt. In fact, the honey bee was named after the god Apis which in that era took the shape of a bull. So it was with great expectation that I accepted an assignment offered by Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance to provide some consultation to Egyptian beekeepers. As a consequence, I am writing this issue of APIS from my hotel room in Alexandria, Egypt on the traditional day of rest here, the Islamic sabbath, Friday. Through the miracle of electronic mail, I hope to send it early next week to the Entomology/Nematology Department in Gainesville for printing and mailing. If all goes well, it should be in your mailbox just before I return from my visit to Egypt.
The Egyptians are well aware of their contributions to beekeeping. The Nile river is considered the mother of Egypt. The country is composed of a narrow valley which widens into a large delta before emptying in the Mediterranean Sea. These are fragile, fertile intrusions into the inhospitable sands of one of the largest deserts in the world. Egypt also considers itself the mother of beekeeping. The honey bee was kept during the time of the pharaohs, at least 5,000 years ago. Honey was considered a delicacy by the nobles and kings, and beeswax was used in the embalming process for which the era is so famous. Migratory beekeeping began during this period as hives (in mud pots) were put on boats or rafts which sailed up and down the Nile following the honey flows, much as beekeepers in the U.S. do with 18-wheelers today.
According to information provided me, the modern beekeeping era in Egypt began in the 1880s, when the first moveable-frame hives appeared. In 1912, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) established an apiary near Cairo with modern equipment, trained extension agents and provided hives and bees free of charge to the population. Several European races of bees (principally Italian and Carniolan) were imported to improve the characteristics of the native honey bee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) which has a reputation for defensiveness. By 1923, two beekeeping associations were formed and a journal called "The Bee Kingdom" was published. In the 1960s, importation of queens was prohibited to prevent introduction of bee disease. To date, Egypt does not have American foulbrood.
As modern beekeeping increased, so there was a decline in traditional fixed comb beekeeping. From the 1940s to the 1980s, honey and wax production dropped in mud hives from 2100 and 246 tons respectively to 1200 and 129 tons. In the same period, modern hive production increased from 4500 to 6400 tons of honey and 18 to 26 tons of wax. The number of fixed comb hives was 511,000 in 1952, dropping to 180,000 in 1989. During that time managed colonies went from 1600 to 1,200,000! That year also marked the official introduction of the Varroa bee mite, responsible for a significant reduction in managed colonies since that time.
In order to understand Egypt's beekeeping problems, one must first know about its characteristics. It is the most populous country in the Arab world and takes second place on the African in that category. Although larger than Texas and New Mexico combined, 99 percent of Egypt's 45 million persons are crowded in the Nile valley and the delta. These regions are some of most densely populated in the world, averaging 3,600 per square mile. Urbanization has taken some pressure off agricultural land, but caused other problems, especially urban blight and unemployment. Some sixteen million souls (an exact count in impossible) are found in the capital, Cairo, and Alexandria, the principle port, has almost three million. The press of humanity in this country is at once apparent to even the most casual visitor. More disturbing than constant jostling to a visitor, however, may be the knowledge that Egypt continues to grow at a 2.6 percent growth rate (doubling in 27 years) and 65 percent of its population is under 20 years of age.
Egypt's population is supported by agriculture on some 6 million acres of arable land, the legacy of thousands of years of flooding by the Nile. Sometimes disastrous floods came to an end with construction of the Aswan dam in upper Egypt, near the Sudanese border. In addition, the reservoir created (Lake Nasser) allows water to be fed to the valley and delta agricultural lands during drought. However, this also means that replenishing of the soil by the river has been reduced to nil.
Egypt has long been known for its high quality long-fibered cotton, which continues to be the number one agricultural product. Rice, onions, beans, citrus, wheat, corn, barely and sugar are runners also major crops, as are various forms of livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and two local staples, water buffalo and camels. Noticeably missing are numbers of pigs. Islamic law prohibits eating pork.
There is great commerce in agriculture and the local markets are filled with all manner of meats, fish, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Land reform in the 1950s has returned much of Egypt's land to small-scale owners which means many now own their own land and agriculture is in the hands of many adept entrepreneurs. However, these small-sized holdings often sacrifice efficiency although labor is cheap. The Gross National Product (GNP) is only $33,583, ten times less than Brazil's, although far greater than that of many other African countries.
That brings us to beekeeping which produces good cash crops with strong demand locally at fairly high prices by Egyptian standards. Honey sells for US $1.30/lb and royal jelly for US $200.00/lb. This means that keeping bees can be very attractive; as a consequence, there are a lot of beekeepers. One glance at the intensive agriculture in Egypt reveals that there isn't much that bees can forage on. In contrast to North America, there are no wild nectar producing plants of any consequence. The two major bee plants on the Nile delta, where most of the agriculture takes place, are clover (berseem) and cotton. Citrus is a third plant of some importance.
Like the human population, there is a greater Egyptian bee population than the land can handle. Apiaries of 100 to 200 colonies are common, many only a few miles apart. The Egyptian beekeeper is also managing marginal colonies. Labor is cheap and not as important an issue as it is in the U.S., but no amount of labor can make up for the intense competition among a large number of weak colonies. On top of this pesticides routinely devastate the foraging population.
Arrival of Varroa in 1989 dealt a great blow to Egyptian beekeepers. Like so many other areas in the world, beekeepers here were unable to react quickly enough to prevent large colony loss. Now information is beginning to trickle down that technologies are available to control Varroa populations. Apistan (R) was first discouraged by extension agents here, but is now becoming more acceptable. It was at first thought that the product was radioactive and a carcinogen. Some persons also recommended natural products such as herbs or ground up eucalyptus leaves in smokers or organic (both formic and lactic) acid fumigation. None of these is either as effective or benign to bees and humans as is fluvalinate formulated in Apistan (R) plastic strips. The product is now becoming a routine control measure.
Apistan (R) is very expensive in Egypt; at times twice to three times what it costs in the U.S. As a consequence there is much experimentation with various other chemicals and Apistan (R) strips are often seen cut into pieces to treat colonies. Unfortunately, this probably will hasten resistance by Varroa. It was also erroneously thought that Varroa could be eradicated using chemicals. Similar to all other parts of the world where the mite has been introduced, however, there is little doubt that Egyptian beekeepers are going to have to live with this mite as a permanent part of their beekeeping. Ironically, at least in the short term, reduction of colony numbers by Varroa increases the potential honey- producing capacity of the hives that remain.
Unfortunately, the strong interest in finding a control for Varroa (the topic has taken precedence in most seminars or village meetings I have attended) detracts from beekeepers putting energy into solving other fundamental problems of Egyptian beekeeping. They can be easily listed and are not really much different than those found in the rest of the world:
- There are too many colonies for the available vegetation to support. A recommendation made by most familiar with Egyptian beekeeping is to reduce the number of colonies in apiaries to no more than 50 colonies. Average yield has continually fallen from 35 pounds per colony in 1973 to 9 pounds in 1988. [Editor’s note: subsequent to this trip, I found out that the Egyptian government provides a sugar subsidy to beekeepers based on the number of colonies they manage. This provides huge incentive to keep the official number of colonies high. The fate of the sugar (sold on the market or fed to the bees?) remains in doubt.]
Concurrent with increase in colony numbers has been a reduction in nectar plants (weeds like vetch and wild mustard) on marginal lands. Many think the general erosion of environmental quality (land and water pollution are great stresses on the system here) also contributes to a reduction in nectar secreting potential by all plants.
- Beekeepers are preoccupied with managing numbers of colonies (see note above). Many hives are weak in population, producing less than 10 lbs per year. It is usually recommended that beekeepers begin managing fewer stronger colonies which are more efficient in honey yield per bee. In addition, populations appear to be marginal for successful wintering. Although queens seem to be "honeybound" (honey has been put in the brood nest reducing the number of cells for brood rearing), it is not clear that populations do not winter well. Carniolan bees can adjust egg laying very quickly to environmental conditions.
- Requeening methods need to be reexamined. Egyptian beekeepers do not systematically requeen. Almost all queens are reared under the "emergency" impulse; colonies are simply given a frame of brood to rear replacement queens. Adhering to this practice rather than purchasing queens from qualified producers, who rear them under the "swarming impulse," usually results substandard queens.
- Beekeepers should orient towards managing colonies by adding supers to provide stimulus for colonies to increase both brood and honey production. The current Egyptian beekeeping practice is to manage colonies comb by comb. This involves removing honey-filled combs from the brood nest and replacing them with empties. It is known that frequent disruption of brood nest activities causes stress and reduces overall honey yields. Judicious use of queen excluders (they are expensive and no one uses them) must also become a part of this management system. Extracting honey from the brood nest is usually not good beekeeping practice. This may be a practice left over from fixed comb traditional apiculture.
- Combs are often in marginal condition. Beekeeping in Egypt suffers from the presence of excessive drone comb and broken or damaged frames. The proper construction and wiring of frames along with a replacement policy of 15 percent of combs annually would materially contribute to colony efficiency. Many persons here manufacture their own woodenware which can contribute to comb edges being chewed away, reducing brood rearing space. An advantage of modern Egyptian beekeeping is that the country has standardized to Langstroth dimensions.
- Feeders are too small to deliver sufficient volume of syrup. Most feeders are of the half-frame Boardman type. They should be replaced by larger containers which will increase labor efficiency and decrease disturbance of colonies.
There are some additional factors affecting Egyptian beekeeping beyond the basics of strong populations, young and vigorous queens and proper nutrition. Perhaps most problematic is pesticide use, especially in cotton, which is also a major nectar plant. It is difficult for beekeepers to protect colonies from widespread application. This must be a regional effort characterized by close communication between beekeeper and applicator.
The Agricultural Extension Service can often help bridge this communication gap. Egypt has a large extension service with a cadre of trained extension apiculturists. Unfortunately, although the personnel are available, there are few resources at the disposal of agents. Of particular significance is lack of transportation. Extension employees in Egypt willing to go out in the field often have to pay these costs out of their own pocket. In most of my travels around Egypt, we provided transport to various agents.
Another problem with the Extension Service is that it is not formally linked to researchers at universities. As an example, the faculty of the extremely large University of Alexandria (in excess of 100,000 students!) has good information on toxicology, entomology and other disciplines, but the extension service is not presently an integral part of this network. Thus, there is often a breakdown in communication between those developing knowledge and those responsible for distributing it. This is also true to varying degrees in many other countries, including the U.S. Extension-research links, therefore, must constantly be reforged in creative ways.
Beekeeping in Egypt is in need of a great deal of research. Of particular importance is the possibility of planting nectarproducing crops in marginal lands or breeding vegetables and/or fruits that will secrete more nectar. Another fruitful area is genetic research into mite resistance; it would be interesting to explore the possibility that the original Egyptian bee, Apis mellifera lamarckii, is more able to resist depredations of Varroa as some think.
One must be careful when giving counsel in agricultural pursuits to be sure a full picture of any situation is gained. Because there are many marginal beekeepers in Egypt, it cannot be assumed that people do not exist who know what they are doing, or that some of the practices are without rationale. I have, in fact, met some excellent beekeepers, given the limited resources available in this country. One, a retired teacher (history and geography), got his training by reading Dadant's "First Lessons in Beekeeping." This classic beginning book continues to used by many in the U.S. who are just beginning the craft. Another largerscale beekeeper also impressed me with his knowledge of queen rearing practices.
Many universities exist in Egypt. Often, however, they turn out academically oriented students, some of whom have as one U.S. veterinarian I met here said, "never fed a pill to a cow." The many graduates coming out of universities at one time were guaranteed governmental positions during Egypt's era of socialist experimentation. It has now been recognized that such a policy is impractical and instead new, reclaimed land is being given to this young, educated population. Developmental and agricultural agencies are looking at beekeeping as one of the enterprises that will make the new lands policy more profitable. This new generation of beekeepers would be an eminently teachable audience in modern beekeeping technology.
There are exceptions to the idea that university graduates have little practical knowledge. Perhaps the most successful beekeeper I met was managing 1500 colonies while employing a crew of 4 and producing package queens and bees for shipment to Saudi Arabia. This appeared to be a very lucrative business in spite of the fact that almost half the purchase price of a 3 lb package (US $60.00) was eaten up in air freight. This beekeeper appeared to be using most of the methods employed by commercial package and queen producers in the U.S. He was trained in the mid 1960s by the Chair of the Entomology Department at Alexandria University, Dr. Abdel-Latif El-Deib, who received his apicultural education at the Universities of California and Illinois.
And although the Egyptian extension efforts have their problems, excellent beekeeping information is available, but one has to look for it. I have encountered a beautiful pamphlet (published in 1992) on Varroa mites, complete with color pictures of mites and how to tell them from bee lice, which are also present here. In addition, in 1991, Extension published a 71-page booklet, authored by the Head of the Bee Research Institute in Cairo, Dr. Mahmoud Mazeid, called "Raising Bees." It contains color pictures of modern beekeeping and honey processing equipment, in addition to descriptions of the life cycles of both tracheal and Varroa mites.
Of special interest to me in the above publication was an account of traditional hives (mud pots about 9 inches in diameter and 5 feet long, stacked together like logs) used in Egyptian beekeeping. The description of Apis mellifera lamarckii in the book is a small, yellow bee, resistant to diseases, but only yielding some 10 lbs of honey per year. Some modern hives in Egypt don't produce that much honey today! There is also described limited experimentation to raise the traditional bee in moveableframe equipment.
Cooperatives provide support to beekeepers here in a number of ways; some have formed bee associations, but there are no published bee journals to my knowledge. I have also been told there is a lack of governmental credit. This is a significant problem. As one beekeeper said to me when I suggested that younger people might enter beekeeping, "What can one do without access to credit?" I certainly intend to stress this as a need in my final report.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1992 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
